Oscars 2013: The five best speeches at the Academy Awards

Who gave the best speech on Oscar night? Early on, it looked like it was going to be hard to come up with five. But then Jennifer Lawrence, Daniel Day-Lewis and Ben Affleck arrived to save the night.

Here are our five favorites:

1. Ben Affleck, best picture for "Argo": Sure, Daniel Day-Lewis was more polished, but Affleck's rambling but candid and honest acceptance speech receives our vote for the best because it was just that: emotional, passionate and tender. He not only moved us, but ended the night on a positive note -- going beyond the corridors of Hollywood to encourage those who are feeling downtrodden. Lovely.

2. Day-Lewis, best actor for "Lincoln": As expected, the multiple Oscar winner was the best speaker, giving the most eloquent, polished and surprisingly funny speech. Joking that you were up to play Margaret Thatcher while Meryl Streep was being wooed to play Lincoln was the funniest moment in the show (sorry, Seth). "I really don't know how this all happened," Day-Lewis commented at the start of his speech. Well, we do. You were that amazing. A class act.

3. Jennifer Lawrence, best actress for "Silver Linings Playbook": Can you possibly be more adorable? "This is nuts!" the versatile actress said, just after tripping on the way up to collect her award. She kept it short and sassy. Just the way we like it.

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4. Quentin Tarantino, best original screenplay for "Django Unchained": Did anyone really expect bad-boy Tarantino to be so jaw-droppingly gracious, not only thanking his incredible cast for the reason he won, but praising all the other writers in both screenwriting categories. What an unexpectedly kind speech. Even loved his off-the-cuff opening remark when he came up onstage to get his trophy from Charlize Theron: "That's cool, Charlize is my neighbor."

5. Chris Terrio, best adapted screenplay: The first-timer hit a grand slam, mentioning Affleck's co-screenwriting win for "Good Will Hunting" and how the "Argo" actor-director launched his career. But his final words about using nonviolence to solve world problems reverberated powerfully and aptly summed up the topical theme of the best picture winner.